Region turns down taxi drivers’ request to limit new licences

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WATERLOO REGION — Taxi drivers in Waterloo Region say business hasn’t been great and have asked regional councillors to limit new taxi licences because of it.

Local transit activists say it was an attempt to limit competition and choice. They successfully lobbied the region to turn down the request.

“Regional council was right to leave things the way they are,” said Tim Mollison of the Tri-Cities Transport Action Group.

The region allots licences based on a population ratio — currently one license for every 1,650 people. The Waterloo Taxi Association, which represents five regional cab companies, requested it be limited to one for every 2,000 people.

Staff recommended changing the ratio to one for every 1,850 people, but councillors chose to take no action earlier this month.

No new taxi licences will be issued until the region’s population reaches 650,000 people, which is estimated to be in about 10 years, according to regional staff.

David Byers, president of the Waterloo Taxi Association and owner of United Taxi, said the request was based on need, not on trying to limit competition.

“We used to have a lot of business and with the economy the way it is we probably have more licenses than we need,” he said.

Six cab companies operate in the Region of Waterloo with a combined 359 taxis plus spares, according to the region.

United Taxi and Golden Triangle are the largest with 96 and 94 cabs respectively.

The region regulates and licenses taxi cabs. It has several functions, including setting the number of licences, setting meter rates and inspecting taxis for safety issues and cleanliness.

To receive a taxi licence, operators must be sponsored by an existing company.

Coun. Geoff Lorentz sits on the region’s licensing and retail committee, which made the decision on the taxi ratio.

“These people are controlling their own destiny,” Lorentz said. “If they’re true entrepreneurs they’ll find a way to drive business.

“They need to figure some stuff out on their own.”

Byers said taxis typically get most of their business from daily calls, such as shuttling people to and from work. With the loss of manufacturing jobs in recent years and layoffs at Research In Motion, he said there’s been a noticeable decline.

There are longer and more frequent lulls in the day, he said.

But Mollison isn’t convinced.

“We see (limiting licences) as not being about the customer at all,” Mollison said. “If they’re having difficulty, we feel their pain.

“The essence of the free market is competition. The existing taxi owners would have had a monopoly on any new taxi licences in the next 10 years.”

Mollison said he would like to see the taxi system opened up to increase further competition and service for customers.

Lorentz said it wouldn’t necessarily be in the public’s best interest.

“If you didn’t have regulation you would have people fiddling with the meter and people driving around with shoddy brakes and the seatbelts don’t work,” he said.